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[SMM Express] South Africa's enforcement drive against illegal chrome mining in Limpopo has escalated through mid-2026, with the Hawks arresting five suspects, aged 43 to 50, at an illegal chrome mining site in the Thabazimbi policing area on 12–13 July. The operation, run by the Limpopo Serious Organized Crime Investigation team alongside local SAPS units, the Criminal Record Centre and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, resulted in charges of illegal mining and contravening environmental law; the suspects appeared at the Thabazimbi Magistrate's Court on 14 July. The arrests form part of a broader, active pattern rather than an isolated incident. In late May, the Asset Forfeiture Unit secured a R4.5 million forfeiture order covering trucks and trailers linked to illegal chrome mining in the Sekhukhune district, and in early July a separate court ruling allowed authorities to seize seven trucks loaded with chrome ore from another illegal operation. Together, the cases point to sustained, coordinated action across Limpopo's chrome belt targeting the trucks, sites and proceeds tied to unlicensed chrome extraction.

As of this Friday, SiMn 6517 (cash) was 5,650-5,700 yuan/mt in north China, flat WoW; in south China, SiMn 6517 (cash) was 5,700-5,750 yuan/mt, unchanged WoW from last Friday; south China SiMn 6014 (cash) was 5,350-5,400 yuan/mt, flat WoW. Recently, SiMn futures moved sideways in a weak trend, market sentiment was heavily cautious, prices fell, and futures prices were basically in sync with spot prices.

July 31 report: North China ports: 46% Australian lumps 40.5-41 yuan/mtu, down WoW; South African semi-carbonate 33.5-34 yuan/mtu, down WoW; Gabonese 38.3-38.7 yuan/mtu, down WoW; South African high-iron 28.8-29.3 yuan/mtu, down WoW; South African medium-iron 36-36.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. South China ports: 46% Australian lumps 42.9-43.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate 36.5-37 yuan/mtu, down WoW; Gabonese 41.1-41.6 yuan/mtu, up WoW; South African high-iron 31.2-31.7 yuan/mtu, down WoW; South African medium-iron 38-38.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Manganese ore prices continue to grind lower, end-use demand remains weak, and it is common for traders to sell at lower prices.

July 31, 2026 - This week, ferrochrome market trading was stagnant and prices fell; the chrome ore market was sluggish, with limited inquiries......

[ADC12 Price Daily: Aluminum Alloy Futures Consolidate at Highs, Close Lower; Spot ADC12 Prices Hold Steady] Today, ADC12 market prices were largely stable. The cost side did not show any noticeable changes, still providing some support to prices. However, the demand side was weak, and insufficient orders exerted some pressure on the market, with some enterprises showing a slight willingness to cut prices.

[Scrap Aluminum and Secondary Aluminum Weekly Review: Cost-Driven Price Strengthening, High-Temperature Holiday Drags Demand, ADC12 Gains Constrained] This week, ADC12 market prices first stabilized and then rose. SMM ADC12 prices held steady at 24,000 yuan/mt early in the week, were raised for two consecutive days mid-week driven by costs, and stood at 24,200 yuan/mt as of Thursday, up 200 yuan/mt from last Thursday. The cost side remained the core driver of this week's price increase.

Overall, upstream producers support prices amid losses with rising factory inventories, midstream traders destock continuously , while downstream purchasers insist on low-price procurement. The multi-dimensional market game has weakened overall trading liquidity. Costs form a solid bottom support for spot prices, while high factory inventories and sluggish off-season demand cap upward price momentum. Sustained market downturns may trigger further active production cuts on the supply side.

[Production Under Pressure, Marginal Supply Reduction, Structural Trend Divergence in Silicon Metal]: The silicon metal industry chain exhibited a clear gaming pattern, with structural divergence between upstream and midstream. On the supply side, silicon enterprises faced cash flow losses, and a small number undertook maintenance and production halts; however, the limited actual cuts had no directional impact on market sentiment. Silicon enterprises showed a strong inclination to hold prices firm and were unwilling to lower quotes to boost orders, while the industry’s in-factory inventory showed an accumulating trend. In the midstream, social inventory destocked continuously in recent weeks. Trading firms engaging in both spot and futures markets saw improved transaction activity at low futures prices, and inventory in the trade circulation segment continued to destock. The tightening of circulating supply drove the spot-futures price spread to strengthen, and spot silicon metal was more resistant to declines than futures.

[SMM: Low Arrivals, Mainly Cargo Pick-Up, Silicon Metal Social Inventory Continues Destocking Trend] SMM statistics as of July 30 show that the social inventory of silicon metal in major regions decreased by 13,000 mt WoW.

【SMM Tantalum & Niobium Express】Global Advanced Metals (GAM), a leading high-purity tantalum and niobium producer in North America, officially put its upgraded new metallurgical purification process into operation at its Boyertown, Pennsylvania production base in June this year. This integrated optimized purification process revolutionizes the traditional electron beam melting and solvent extraction workflows, enabling precise control of trace oxygen, carbon and metallic impurities in tantalum and niobium feedstocks. Verified through multiple batches of industrial trials, the yield rate of superconducting-grade niobium for fusion magnet components has increased by 18 percentage points compared with the original process. Superconducting-grade niobium requires extremely low impurity content to ensure an ultra-high residual resistance ratio, making it an indispensable core raw material for the ITER Nb₃Sn superconducting coils. GAM has signed a multi-year fixed supply framework agreement with General Atomics, the US domestic manufacturing general contractor for ITER. The new process simultaneously improves the purification efficiency of semiconductor-grade high-purity tantalum ingots, cutting the single-batch production cycle by 22% and significantly reducing material loss. Currently, the global supply of niobium dedicated for fusion applications is tight, and this technological upgrade enables GAM to expand its stable supply capacity for ITER and other large-scale particle accelerator projects. The company stated that it will further expand its purification production lines by 2027 to meet the surging market demand for superconducting metals driven by the global fusion energy and high-end semiconductor industries.

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Most Monomer Enterprises Suspend Quoting, DMC Prices Rebound and Rise] This week, DMC prices held firm and rose strongly, with quotes ranging from 12,500 to 12,800 yuan/mt, up 1,050 yuan/mt WoW. Demand side, prices had fallen to stage lows earlier, and raw material inventory at mid- and downstream enterprises also dropped to low levels, prompting some clients to enter the market for staged stockpiling purchases. This drove inventory destocking at monomer enterprises, and pre-sale orders were scheduled until late August. Leveraging this order backlog, most monomer enterprises suspended quoting, waiting to adjust uniformly after the August Hanye Meeting. Only a few producers released spot cargoes, operating on a one-order-one-negotiation basis. Low-price supplies in the market continued to tighten, significantly compressing downstream bargaining space.

[SMM Weekly Review: Polysilicon Awaits Cost Meeting Plan, Module Prices Stabilize on Profit-Protection Willingness] This week, China's module prices showed signs of stabilizing. Due to the poor financial performance of some enterprises in mid-year, with companies in a continuous state of losses, the sentiment of competing on price to sell began to wane, shifting from previously rushing shipments to now prioritizing profit protection. Module prices began to show stability. However, affected by the pace of warehouse withdrawals of low-efficiency modules, low-price orders still existed in the market, and distributed prices were relatively divergent. On the centralized side, recent project tenders were scarce, and demand recovery was slower than expected.

[ADC12 Price Daily Review: Aluminum Alloy Futures Shot Up, Came Under Pressure and Pulled Back; Spot Aluminum Followed Suit with Sluggish Trading] The aluminum alloy 2609 contract opened at 23,140 yuan/mt today, with an intraday high of 23,290 yuan/mt and a low of 23,055 yuan/mt.